


A Timely Encounter

by angelsfalling16



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Light Angst, M/M, Sharing Clothes, SnowBaz, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:56:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27315160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelsfalling16/pseuds/angelsfalling16
Summary: Everyone is born with a timer on their wrist, counting down to the moment that they meet their soulmate, whether it be a platonic or romantic one.Simon's countdown is nearing its end, and when he plans to go on a blind date on the same day he's supposed to meet his soulmate, he is just asking for trouble.
Relationships: Dev & Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch, Penelope Bunce & Simon Snow, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Comments: 39
Kudos: 181
Collections: Carry On Fall Exchange 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my fic for the fall exchange! I have had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope you like it Apollosglare!! :D
> 
> I'm sorry it's so late. I meant to post it earlier today, but it seemed like every time I sat down to finish editing it, I had to get back up to do something else. But finally, the first chapter is up, and I will be getting the other three up as soon as possible over the next couple of weeks!

**Simon**

_12:45 pm_

I have fifteen minutes until I'm supposed to arrive at the diner for the blind date, and I haven't even gotten dressed yet. Penny is going to kill me if I’m late, but I didn't even want to go in the first place, so I can’t find it in me to care very much.

I mean, what's the point? I go to lunch with some guy I've never met an hour before I'm supposed to meet my soulmate and what? Get to know him, knowing full well that it won’t go anywhere? How does that make sense?

Penny wouldn't see reason, though. She insisted that I go, threatening my life if I skipped out on it. I don't get why she wants me to meet this guy so badly. If he were really so special, he would be my soulmate, not the appetizer before the main course.

What if I end up really liking him and he turns out to not be the one? It will be a waste of time and only end up in mixed feelings and heartache.

I attempted to push the date an hour, wondering if that would be tempting fate or at the very least get me out of the blind date, assuming I’d run into my soulmate and have an excuse to leave, but apparently, the other guy has plans at that time and insisted on lunch being at one. If he has such important plans, why is he wasting his time with me? I'm obviously not his soulmate.

He probably has a choice about going even, unlike me, so why is he agreeing to this?

I drag my feet as I get dressed, putting minimal effort into my appearance before finally grabbing my keys and reluctantly heading off to this date.

My feet crunch over fallen leaves as I make my way to my car, the blue paint faded and peeling. To say it’s an old car is an understatement. It was old when the previous owners got it. Now, it’s ancient and should probably be sitting in a museum somewhere.

I’ve been trying to save up for a new one – well, _newer_ one – but it’s difficult to do while also going to school, so I’m stuck with this thing on wheels that barely manages to get me to work. Usually, I would be embarrassed to be seen in it, but it doesn’t really matter what my date thinks. And with any luck, my soulmate won’t see me in it today.

I put the key into the ignition and turn, but the car doesn't start. I frown and try again, but still nothing happens. I wait a minute before trying one more time.

Of course, my old, crappy car won't start because that’s just my luck.

This feels like a sign that I shouldn't go on this date. I should just go back inside and forget about it.

That's not an option, though. Penny made it perfectly clear that the only way I wasn't going on this date was if I got deathly ill.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I sigh and dial Penny's number. She's at work, but she picks up halfway through the second ring.

"Yes, Simon?" She asks, like she already knows that I've screwed something up.

"I can't go on the date." No sense beating around the bush.

"Are you not there yet? You're supposed to be there in five minutes, Simon!" I should have known she'd be upset. Can she really blame me, though?

"I know, but I was running late. And now my car won't start. Maybe I just shouldn't go."

"No.” I can practically hear her shaking her head at me through the phone. “You are absolutely going even if you have to walk."

I make a face, glad that she can’t see me right now.

"Will you at least come pick me up and give me a ride then?"

"I can't. I'm at work, and I can't get away."

"Then I won't go."

"Simon..." She says in that tone that means I shouldn't try to cross her.

"What do you expect me to do? I'm not going to walk."

"There's a bus stop just a few minutes away from the apartment. If you hurry, you should be able to catch it. I’ll let my friend know that you'll be running late."

Right, her mysterious friend who just happens to know a guy who would be perfect for me. How come I've never met this friend? And why is this date so important?

If he were really that perfect, wouldn’t he be my soulmate.

With another long sigh, I accept the fact that I'm not getting out of this date without somehow ending up in the hospital. I run a hand through my hair and rest my forehead on the steering wheel.

"Will you at least tell me the guy's name?" I ask.

"It's Baz."

**Baz**

_12:45 pm_

I look myself over in the mirror hanging on the wall, checking my appearance one last time before I leave. I have dressed nicely, but not too nicely. I don't want to give the guy the wrong idea. It's not like this has any chance of lasting.

I can see the clock on my wrist in my reflection, the one telling me how much time is left until I meet my soulmate, and it's more than an hour away, not the time I'll be meeting this guy I’ve been set up with.

I run my fingers through my carefully styled hair and give my shirt a final tug before turning away from the mirror.

I shouldn't be nervous. It's just a blind date with someone I'll only be forced to be with for an hour before I can make my escape. That's all the time I promised, and if I'm lucky and order strategically, I may be able to get out of the date sooner.

I don't know why I'm even going.

Dev, with his weird sense of humor, thought it would be funny to set me up on a blind date on the same day I'm supposed to meet my soulmate, claiming that this guy could be the one even though he has tried and failed multiple times to set up this date. For various reasons, it has fallen through every single time. I’m just waiting for that to happen this time, and then I won’t have to bother with the guy at all.

Still, Dev was insistent that I at least meet him.

To prove Dev wrong, though, I set the date for exactly one hour before I'm supposed to meet my soulmate. That way, I'll meet the guy before I meet my soulmate, and Dev will have to admit that he was wrong and was just wasting my time.

With a glance at the time on my phone, I see that I’m pushing the time a bit here. I suppose we'll have to see if Dev even manages to get me there on time since he isn't the best with time management but insisted on dropping me off so that I couldn't just not show up. Admittedly, he has a point.

If he weren’t driving me there himself, I probably wouldn't have gone at all.

I slip on a jacket and grab an umbrella on my way out the door. It's supposed to rain later, and I don't want to be drenched when I meet my soulmate.

I may not care about meeting this guy, but I do care about meeting _the one_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your lovely comments on the first chapter. I haven't gotten a chance to respond to them yet, but I really appreciate them <3 Also, I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I'm going to try to finish the rest of the fic this weekend so that I can get it posted a little sooner. I hope you enjoy! :)

**Simon**

_1:10 pm_

The walk to the bus stop doesn't take as long as I expected to, and I find the brisk wind a comfort as its chill promises an early winter. The time it takes me to get there allows me to clear my mind and think a little more clearly about everything that’s supposed to happen today.

I kept seeing this blind date as a negative thing, a waste of time, and all of these negative thoughts were bound to put me in a sour mood when I finally meet my soulmate. I don't want that to be the first impression my soulmate, whoever they are, receives of me, which is why I have decided to try to look at this date in a different light.

Even if this guy I'm supposed to meet isn't my soulmate, they could still be someone who's supposed to make a serious impact on my life. Maybe they’ll save my life. Maybe they’ll tell me something that changes my entire outlook on life. Maybe we'll be lifelong friends, and who knows, they could even be in my eventual wedding as one of my groomsmen or something.

They could be anyone and could completely change my life, but I won't get the chance to find out if I don't give them a chance, so I have to stop looking at this so negatively.

That's easier said than done, though because just as I turn on the street where the bus stop is, I watch as the bus pulls out of the stop and drives away from me. The next one won't run for at least another thirty minutes and won't be able to get me to the diner anywhere near the time I'm supposed to be there, and it feels like another sign that I’m taking the wrong path with all of this.

I reach for my pocket to grab my phone to tell Penny what happened and see what she thinks I should do, but I find that it isn't there.

_Shit._

I must have left it in my car, I think, remembering how I threw it down in the passenger seat in my frustration earlier before I finally dragged myself down to the bus stop.

Once again, I'm ready to give up on this date. I'm obviously not meant to get there on time, so why do I keep trying? Why haven’t I given up?

But as I let myself imagine who this guy could be and whether he’s worth all of this trouble, I take a step forward, then another one, turning in the direction of the diner, deciding to just go ahead and walk the rest of the way.

I might get to the diner too late to even meet the guy, but at least I'll be able to say that I tried.

I made an attempt to get there and make this work. Maybe he'll wait, and maybe he won't.

I guess if we're meant to meet, we will. If not, I'll know that it just wasn't meant to be, and I'll be able to move on without wondering what might have been.

**Baz**

_1:10 pm_

I sit patiently at the table as I wait for my blind date to arrive. I've decided not to order until he gets here, but I start to worry about how I'm occupying a table during the middle of the lunch rush, so I order a water, leaving it untouched on the table in front of me, the condensation running down the side of the glass and pooling on the table as I once again check my phone for the time.

If a guy is ten minutes late to a date, is it too early to call it and leave? Or has enough time passed to safely say that the guy isn't going to show?

After a moment, I decide that it's too early. The guy could have gotten stuck in traffic or something. I'll give him ten more minutes, then I'm calling it. I don't want to waste any more time than that on a guy who will be nothing more than a passing shadow in the story of my life, barely leaving a mark.

Deciding to wait a little longer gives me some time to gaze out the window at all of the afternoon shoppers and wonder about my soulmate.

Could he be one of these people passing by the windows? Will I run into him later on the street or in one of the shops? Could I be looking at him right now and not even know it?

Is he looking forward to meeting me or dreading the prospect of being tied down to one person for the rest of his life? Is he one of those people who is skeptical of the whole soulmate thing and will hate me from the start?

Countless questions go through my mind, the same ones I’ve been asking myself for years as I sit there counting down the minutes until I meet him, and I start to grow nervous.

What if my soulmate is nothing like I imagine? Obviously, I’ll fall in love with him – it’s pretty inevitable – but what if I don’t want to? Is it possible for me to take one look at him and wish that he were someone else?

Take this blind date, for instance. What if I meet him and really like him? Is it possible for me to like him more than I do my soulmate? Am I allowed to turn my soulmate away for someone else?

I don’t think it’s unheard of, but it probably wouldn’t feel right and would always leave me wondering about what have happened if I had made a different choice.

 _Who is this mystery guy?_ I wonder, unsure if I mean my blind date or my soulmate, a confusing mix of feelings stirring up the butterflies in my stomach and making me feel sick.

This was all a horrible idea. Why did I let Dev talk me into this? I should have just stayed home today.

I need more time to think through all of this, and this idiotic date is using up what little time I have left.

It probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference, but I’m still hoping for more time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! I would like to once again apologize for the delay in the update of this fic. I fully intended to work on this earlier in the week, but things have been so busy that I didn't have the chance. The good news, though, is that I will be posting the rest of the fic later today, just as soon as I get it edited.
> 
> I hope you all like it, and thanks for waiting so patiently for the new chapter <3

**Simon**

_1:30 pm_

I'm so late for this blind date that I doubt the guy will even be there by the time I finally arrive. A glance at the timer on my wrist tells me I'm only half an hour away from meeting my soulmate, and I wonder if there's any point in me going to the diner at all at this point.

Not only am I thirty minutes late for this date, but I think I might also be lost as I turn down yet another unfamiliar road, my heart pounding in my chest from the chase that ended just a few moments ago.

As I passed by some buildings a while back, a pair of wild dogs appeared from an alley and started chasing me. I kept turning corners and crossing streets, barely paying attention to where I was going as I tried to escape.

Finally, I managed to lose them at some point. They must have gotten distracted by something because they disappeared almost as suddenly as they appeared. I kept running for a little longer to put some more distance between them and me, and when I felt safe enough to slow down and take in my surroundings, I didn’t recognize where I was.

I attempted to retrace my steps, but I didn’t want to get too close to wherever the dogs went, so I’m just kind of wandering around aimlessly at this point in the hopes that I see something familiar.

It feels kind of pointless to keep heading towards this down, but right now, I'm pushing myself to get to the restaurant so that I can be somewhere familiar and rest for a while. I doubt my blind date will still be there, but maybe that's where I'm supposed to meet my soulmate. It would explain why the universe keeps pushing me away, throwing so many obstacles in my way.

Maybe my soulmate works there or is sitting there in the diner, but I'm not supposed to meet them until two, so I had to be late. All of this had to happen to me so that I could meet the person I’m meant to be with.

It's strange how the world works, and it would almost be funny if it I wasn't so fed up with all of this. I’m one more misstep away from just going home. (If I can find my way there.)

**Baz**

_1:30 pm_

It's been thirty minutes since this guy was supposed to meet me here, and I'm done waiting for him. This was obviously a waste of time.

I send Dev a text asking him to come pick me up, but two minutes later, he replies saying that I have to wait a little longer. He says the guy is just running a little late but will definitely be here.

Since I don't have any other way of getting back home right now, I agree to wait ten more minutes, but that's it. I have other things going on today besides this date.

I don't understand why Dev is so hung up on the idea of this guy being perfect for me, possibly even my soulmate, when my soulmate could be anyone. It isn't likely that it's going to be some guy who Dev has been trying to push on me for a while now.

Although, as my timer ticks down, I begin to wonder. Is there a reason he's late or that all the other times we were supposed to meet up never panned out? Is it possible that this guy is actually my soulmate?

No, that's ridiculous. There's no way that Dev is right about this guy.

He just likes trying to make other people as happy as he is with his own soulmate, who he met on a late-night run to the store at nearly one in the morning one time. They seemed to fit perfectly together the moment they meant, and the way Dev describes, it was like magic.

After that, he became obsessed with imagining who my soulmate could be even though it would be another seven months until I met him. He just wanted to make sure that I was as happy as him.

His intentions were nice enough, but I don't think this blind date is going to be the guy. It would be too weird. I mean, how many random events would have to happen in order for our meeting to be delayed so many times just for us to finally meet at the exact moment our timers hit zero? It really would have to be fate for that to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Simon**

_1:55 pm_

I finally find my way back to the right road, and I am so close that it feels like nothing else could possibly go wrong. But as soon as that thought enters my mind, it's like the sky immediately clouds over, and with a crack of thunder the only warning, it begins to pour down rain, drenching me within seconds.

I stop in my tracks, right there on the sidewalk, so close to the restaurant that I can practically see it but unable to keep going.

When the world is screaming at you to turn back, to not keep heading down this path that you’re on, you should probably listen to it.

This date really isn't worth all of this trouble. I was hoping that the world was pushing me towards my soulmate, but really, I think it was just testing me, trying to see how far it could push me before I broke.

Well, the world wins. I'm done. I'm ready to go home.

But first I need to get out of this rain. There's a shop up ahead with an awning that will get me out of the rain until it passes through. I decide to wait there until it stops, then I'll walk back home and call Penny to tell her how awful this day was. There’s no way she can blame me for not making it to the date.

All thoughts of running into my soulmate have left my head by this point. That's the last thing on my mind as I make my way over to building to get out of the rain. I’m not interested in meeting anyone in this state.

I have just stepped underneath the awning when the front of the diner comes into view. Through the pouring rain, I can make out a figure standing in front of it, and even though it's hard to tell for sure, he looks a little like the guy Penny described to me on the phone earlier, Baz.

Is it possible that he's my blind date? Did he actually wait for me all of this time? Or is it just some guy?

I silently debate with myself for a moment before deciding that I've already come this far; it can't hurt to go see if he's the guy. At the very least, I might be able to apologize for missing our date and explain why I'm so late. And if it's not the guy, I will have simply found a different place to stand out of the rain.

With a deep breath, I take a step towards the diner, not realizing that my life is about to change completely.

**Baz**

_1:55 pm_

The guy - _Simon_ , Dev finally told me his name was - is nearly an hour late, but Dev refuses to come pick me up. I'm tired of waiting, though, so I decide to call a cab. It has become apparent that I just wasted an hour of time waiting for someone who obviously isn't going to show, and even if Dev refuses to come get me, I am not going to sit here any longer.

I wait a couple of minutes after calling for the cab before stepping outside to wait because it has just begun to rain, and I don’t want to get wet. I glance at my wrist as I rise from the chair I've been sitting in for the past hour, and I see that there are only a couple of minutes left until I'm supposed to meet my soulmate.

Maybe this is why my blind date had to be late, so that I would be forced to call a cab and meet my soulmate as he drives me home.

My eyes are glued to the timer as it counts down the seconds when the cab pulls up in front of me. I'm just about to reach out to open the door when someone steps in front of me.

"Are you Baz?" The guy asks, and I look up startled.

I can't believe it.

Could this be...?

"Simon?" I ask tentatively.

"Um, yeah," he says shyly, pushing his sopping wet hair out of his face. "Sorry I'm late."

"Actually, you're right on time," I say with a glance at my wrist where the timer has stopped.

"What-?" He begins to ask, but he stops as he looks at his own wrist. " _Oh_."

I can't believe this. Dev was right. This guy is my soulmate. We were always meant to meet, but it had to be at the right time. Everything was pushing us away from each other until the time was right.

It really was fate.

**Simon**

It's him.

Baz is my soulmate.

Even though our timers are proof of it, it's still hard to believe. Everything that I went through over the past hour led to this moment. This guy sitting next to me is my soulmate.

You really shouldn't get into a car with a guy you just met and know nothing about, but I guess I know the most important thing about him: he's my soulmate, the guy I'm meant to be with.

That's why I agreed to get in the cab and go home with him, even though what I really want right now is a hot shower and some dry clothes. But how could I say no?

Still, I'm acutely aware of the fact that I'm soaking wet while he's completely dry. He looks really good, and I probably look like a wet dog.

At the moment, we feel like opposites, but I want the chance to find out what makes us so important to each other. Why was the world so intent on pulling the two of us together?

**Baz**

I don't usually bring home guys I've just met, but under the circumstances, I figure I can make an exception. After all, he is my soulmate.

When the cab driver - a guy I've barely glanced at since I got in the car - pulls up in front of my apartment complex, I offer Simon my umbrella, but he just gives me a look, shaking his head as he steps out of the car.

Right, I guess it won't make much of a difference since he's already soaked.

I slide out of the car after him and lead him up to my apartment, surreptitiously looking over him out of the corner of my eye.

I tried to check him out in the car, but it was hard to get a good look. Now, as I look at him, I wonder how a guy drenched with rain can still manage to look so attractive.

He has these beautiful bronze curls and blue eyes that are so ordinary that they shouldn't be as dazzling as they are, but I find it difficult to look away from them as I reach for my keys to unlock the door.

I finally manage to pull my eyes away from him long enough to let us in, but as soon as the door is closed behind us, I allow myself to look at him again, more fully now.

We're both just staring at each other, taking each other in, and I should probably say something, right? What do you say to a guy you just met but who is somehow your soulmate?

'Hi' doesn't feel right, but somehow, what slips out of my mouth instead is, "Why were you so late to our date?"

I don't really care about that and silently curse myself for asking it. If he had been on time, he probably wouldn't be standing in my apartment right now because he wouldn't be _the one_.

I guess I'm really nervous, though, because I keep going. "If you agree to go on a date with someone, you could at least bother to show up on time."

Why am I such an ass? Why is it that whenever I meet a cute guy, my initial instinct is to be mean? This is why none of my previous relationships have ever lasted.

(Actually, it's most likely because none of them were my soulmate, but I'm sure my personality had something to do with it. I wonder how this guy is going to put up with me and self-sabotaging ways.)

He stares at me silently for a moment before responding with, "I tried to be on time, but my car wouldn't start. Then I missed the bus and got chased by dogs. You're lucky I showed up at all."

"Yeah, real lucky," I say, unsure why we're arguing or why I'm being so mean. I just don't know how to act around him.

This was fate, wasn't it? If all of that hadn't happened, we wouldn't be standing here. He wouldn't be my soulmate, and I would be with some other guy.

I decide to keep my mouth shut so that I don't say something to push the guy away, and I start to wonder if it's too early to kiss the guy.

I know he's my soulmate, but I just met him. It might be weird.

Still, I feel drawn to him in a way I've never been drawn to anyone before.

I try to come up with a way to go about this that won't end up with Simon punching me for crossing this line too soon when _he_ kisses _me_.

His lips are cold from the rain, but they feel nice as they slide against mine. They feel right, like this is where they were always meant to be, pressed tightly against mine and stealing my breath away.

The kiss is a little messy at first as we find our rhythm, but it's perfect. It's everything I've been dreaming of since I was old enough to understand the concept of soulmates.

I can't wait to find other ways in which we fit each other so nicely.

This is just the beginning, and I'm sure that there will be more arguments in the future, but there will also be more kisses.

There will so many firsts, and we'll get to experience them together as we get to know each other.

I'm ready for all of it, I think as I smile into the kiss and pull him closer, not caring how wet he is.

This is where we were always meant to end up: together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading my fic!! I would love to hear what you think <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! <3
> 
> Come find me on [Tumblr](https://angelsfalling16.tumblr.com/) and tell me what you think.


End file.
